- Your rights when you buy something are the same as anyone else in Wales who has bought something or used a service.
- These ‘consumer rights’ aren’t covered by the UNCRC but they are still important
- In most cases, it doesn’t matter whether you bought something in a shop or online – you still have rights
You might not think you have ‘rights’ when it comes to what you buy at the shops. These aren’t ‘rights’ covered in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), but they are an important part of how you should be treated. Rights you have in connection with things you buy are called ‘consumer rights’. They are there to protect you if something you bought was damaged, or even if you just decide you don’t want it. Although you can usually return something, there are time limits that apply.
If you think the reason the thing you bought or the service that you paid for was not what you wanted or was for a reason to do with you – because of your sex or race or because you have a disability – then you may have been discriminated against. This is something that the UNCRC covers.
If you buy something and you decide you don’t want it, you can usually return it if you haven’t used it. If what you have bought isn’t broken or damaged itself, you’ve just decided that you don’t want it, you will have to see what the return policy is at the shop where you bought it. Shops don’t have to take back goods that aren’t damaged or faulty in some way, but many do. If a shop does have a returns policy, it has to treat you the same as anyone else who wants to return something. If it doesn’t, then depending on the reason, it may be discrimination. Find out more about this here.
If you buy something online or over the phone, or by mail order, you can cancel your order at any time up till 14 days after you receive the goods. Once you’ve cancelled your order, you have to send the goods back in another 14 days.
If you buy something and it is faulty, you should be able to return it. As long as you take it back within 30 days, you can get your money back. If you leave it longer than 30 days, you can still take the thing you bought back, but you may only get a repair or a replacement rather than a refund of your money.
If the seller has tried to repair your item, or offered you a replacement, and this isn’t working for you, you can have a refund up to 6 months after you bought your item. After 6 months, you have to be able to show that what you bought was faulty when you first bought it. This can be difficult.
If you bought something online, by phone or mail order and it doesn’t work, you can return it for a full refund in the same way as if you bought it in a shop.
If you received poor service and you think you were treated differently and unfairly because of something like your age, your gender or your race or religion, you may have been discriminated against. It is against the law (and your rights) to be discriminated against on the grounds of your age or sex, your sexual orientation, your race or religion, a disability or if you are pregnant, as well as whether you are married and because of gender reassignment.
If you are discriminated against for one of these reasons, you may be able to bring a legal claim. You can find out more about being treated unfairly here.
If you bought something and it turns out to be different from what the advertising says, you can complain to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the advert. You can also complain to the ASA if you think an advert is inappropriate (even if it’s not related to something you want to do or buy). You can find out more about the ASA on its website.